U.S. Twitter war vs. Taliban flares

The Twitter tiff: It’s a realm usually reserved for celebrities like Lindsay Lohan and Kim Kardashian.

On Sunday, though, Twitter yet again became a field in the battle for hearts and minds in Afghanistan. In the latest flareup in an ongoing social-media campaign, coalition forces engaged the Taliban in a war of words, delivered 140 characters at a time.

Story Continued Below

It all began when a pro-Taliban Twitter feed boasted that a recent roadside bombing had killed eight coalition troops.

Lt. Col. Stewart Upton, a spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force’s Regional Command Southwest, was quick to debunk the claim. He tweeted: “Wow! 8 killed, don’t you think there would be some type of announcement from ISAF? how was your poppy harvest?”

At that point, ISAF’s main Twitter feed jumped into the fray. After an exchange of caustic tweets, ISAF told the Taliban, “The details on your videos are about as accurate as the details on your websites. I think we’re done here. Good day.”

But the pro-Taliban tweeter got the last word: “Super duper pro tip: Never argue against a documented video clip. Makes you look like a juvenile, JUST STOP!”

Upton, a Marine, said the Taliban post about “10 lies or false tweets a day” regarding operations under the jurisdiction of Regional Command Southwest. The Taliban’s goal, Upton told POLITICO in an email, is to project strength in the eyes of sympathizers and financial donors.

“By engaging them yesterday on their false claim, they were held to account for their post and forced to somehow try and validate it,” Upton said. “In the end, hopefully they lose credibility, donors, and recruits when these false posts are pointed out.”